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MSFT Improves Cross-Platform Support: Updates Its Skype App For Linux

Microsoft has updated its Skype application to work with Linux even more smoothly and efficiently than ever before.

Skype has always worked on Linux, since Microsoft and Skype put a version of its VOIP solution on Linux last year, but with this update, it means that it will work better than ever before.

As Linus Torvalds said about Microsoft this week: “If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I’ve won.”

While most Skype fans on Windows and Macintosh platforms have seen routine updates to its Skype program on a regular basis, this latest update by Microsoft is one of the first ones released for Linux for Skype. Most reports show that this update on Skype for Linux contains mainly bug fixes. As Microsoft and Skype Engineer Marco Cimmino stated about the fixes: “Not only did we conquer the navigation issues and bugs from previous releases, but we increased the stability when logging in from a Microsoft Account. There are also greater efficiencies, such as not having to re-type your password when entering via ‘My Account’ if you are already logged-in with the client. Voice messaging is optimized for ease of use and is now just one click away from the options window.”

Microsoft has made the installation process and setup process of Skype very easy for all types of Linux distributions, and it available for most popular distributions of Linux on its software and app stores. Linux users using CentOS, Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu can download Skype freely and easily from those stores.

While this is a huge benefit for Linux and Skype users on Linux, it doesn’t contain all the features of the Windows and Macintosh platforms though. Users of Skype on Linux at times have problems with their webcams and those with Skype sometimes require additional setup via drivers and complex installation issues. However, for the main functionality of Skype, Linux users have all the core abilities of its other versions for the PC and MAC platforms.

Microsoft is quickly adapting Skype to its Linux fans and users, and Linux fans will find Microsoft a company that is serving their needs like never before, versus a competitor who would never honor Linux as a viable operating system. With the release of the updated Skype, Linux fans can use Skype as their VOIP platform or if they don’t trust Microsoft, can always use Google Hangouts.

Written by:Dave Amodt Dave is our news reporter, he reports on everything Microsoft, including MSFT (stock news), related Windows news as well as most hardware news.Dave runs his own content production company and publishes new content every weekday on our site. If you want to stay up to date on everything Microsoft, make sure to subscribe to Dave. He's also on Google+